A bus accident can be more harmful than a regular car accident. This is because there are more passengers, more parties who are responsible for said accident or people involved in the accident, and the injuries may be more serious. Busses do not have proper safety equipment, such as airbags and seatbelts, some do, but not all of them. Because of this, you want to seek out a bus accident lawyer if you’re injured in an accident that involves a bus.
Having a lawyer that understands the case and has experience handling similar cases can make your life a lot easier.
If you’ve been involved in a bus accident, there are steps to follow. These steps may differ depending upon your age, the type of accident and the type of bus, but generally the same steps apply.
First, you should obtain immediate medical care by calling 911. You want to report this accident immediately, because busses can have more serious injuries among various people—so the sooner the accident is reported and medical teams can be dispatched, the better.
After that, you should seek medical attention. Sometimes you’re able to walk away, which means you didn’t require medical attention on the scene. That does not mean that you should not seek medical attention at all—go to your primary care physician on your own time to be checked out. If you have an injury, that’s cropping up after the crash, your physician can make a note of that, and if you decide to file a suit, that’ll serve you well.
You want to document what you can. That’s item number three on our ‘what to do after a bus accident’. Documenting the cars involved, the bus involved. Try to get other people who were involved to give you their name and contact information—make sure that you know who the driver works for and who the bus runs for. Sometimes that can be hard to figure out. Take photos, grab any information that you can.
Do not make statements regarding any injuries you received. Injuries can happen at the time of the crash or days later. If you make statements saying that you were fine, you may have issues receiving insurance payouts if an injury crops up at a later date.
Last but not least, talk to an attorney. Find someone you trust, who understands your accident and what you went through. Make sure their experience is up to par for the accident you’re trying to handle—after you find an attorney you like, talk to them. Talk to them about what happened, show them any evidence you have, point out people they can talk too. They’ll do a lot of the footwork, but you have to help them get there. Insurance companies dislike lawyers who know what they’re doing—so finding one with a history of winning similar cases can be a good thing.